Epic burger topped with a fried egg

Brace yourselves! This Brazilian Epic Burger is not for the faint of heart. Piled high with two burger patties and an assortment of bold toppings, no burger is more EPIC than this!

Okay, let me start by saying this is not your every day Olivia's Cuisine post. True, I do like to post food porn style treats, but I think this time I might have gone a little too far.

Well, what happened was: I was trying to explain to my husband, Tim, that lots of burger places in Brazil sell a burger call X-Tudo (hereby called "Epic Burger") that is pilled insanely high with everything (hence the "tudo") you can thing of. So I thought it would be better if I made him one, because... well... I knew my husband would never say no to an Epic Burger.

And after this baby was born, we both agreed that it had to make the blog. Yep, so here am I, sharing this outrageously monstrous burger with you. Will you make it often? Probably not! But you should make it at least once.

Because who can resist an epic burger topped with a runny egg?
Today I don't have any interesting nerdy food history to share with you, because I couldn't find any records of when this burger was first invented. The reason we call this sandwich a X-Tudo in Portuguese, is because in our language, "X" sounds like "cheese". So either someone didn't know how to speak/write English or they wanted to shorten it and make their lives easier, hence why instead of finding cheese burgers in Brazil, you will find a X-Burger. Or X-Bacon, X-Salada (Cheeseburger with salad), X-Egg, etc.

The X-Tudo (which would translate to Cheese Everything) probably happened because people wanted a X-Bacon with lettuce, tomato, a little of this and a lot of that.

Nowadays, every major burger joint down there has their own version of this epic burger. No two X-Tudo are the same! Some will have one beef patty and one chicken patty, others will add hotdog links and there are even those who add ham slices or salami. What matters is: it has to be epic!

My version? Two beef burger patties, cheese (obviously!), lettuce, tomato, bacon, shoestring fries (that we call "batata palha"), mayo, ketchup, mustard and, the grand finale, a fried egg on top of it all.
Now, of course I exaggerated the burger slightly, just to make a point! You can make this same Epic Burger slightly smaller. Or you can go even bigger, if that's your thing!

Form ground beef into 2 patties slightly wider than the buns. Press the center of each patty to make a slight indentation with your fingertips. Season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. Set aside.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the bacon slices on the baking sheet and bake until bacon is crisp for about 15 minutes, rotating once.

When bacon is cooked, remove from oven and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve.

Preheat a cast iron over medium-high heat. When hot, add a little vegetable oil and cook the burger patties, turning occasionally, until well-crusted and almost cooked through (120F), about 3 minutes per side. Top with the cheese and continue cooking until the cheese melts and burger registers 125°F for medium rare or 135°F for medium. Transfer to a plate and reserve.

Start assembling your burger by spreading mayonnaise on both sides of the bun. Then, add the lettuce leaves, tomato, corn, burger patty cheese cheese, second burger patty with cheese, bacon and fries. Before closing the burger with the top bun, don't forget the fried egg!

In a small nonstick pan over medium heat, add a thin film of olive oil, and crack an egg into the pan. Fry the egg, undisturbed, until cooked to your liking, about 2 to 3 minutes for a slightly runny yolk.

Top the burger with the egg, ketchup and mustard (if using) and the top bun.